It's an Alternate Life
by GaDS2000
Summary: Jimmy invents the Reality Extrapolator and ceases to exist as the result of an errant wish by Cindy. Rating changed to PG just in case.
1. Part 1 The Reality Extrapolator 4000

It's an Alternate Life

by Gary D. Snyder

Part 1:

The holidays had come to Retroville, and all the students (and teachers) at Lindbergh Elementary School looked forward with excitement to the vacation that would start the next day. Among the students were boy genius Jimmy Neutron and his friends Carl Wheezer and Sheen Estevez, who were on their way to school.

"Just one more day until vacation," said Carl happily. "And then only a week or so until Christmas. I can hardly wait."

"Neither can I!" exclaimed Sheen. "Can't you use one of your chrono-thingies to get us there sooner, Jimmy?"

Jimmy shook his head. "Sorry, guys, but I made Mom and Dad two promises. First, I'd try to behave myself. And second, that I wouldn't tamper with the time stream. At least until after Christmas," he added.

"Oh, Christmas… I love Christmas," Carl said dreamily. "All the food, the games, the presents…"

"The waiting," Sheen interjected. "Come on, Jimmy, there must be something you can do to get around this waiting around stuff. Aren't you even curious to know what you're getting for Christmas?"

"Well," said Jimmy slowly, "I promised I wouldn't mess with the time stream, but I may have something that would work almost as well. I can't take you to Christmas any sooner, but I can give you an idea of what it might be like." He stopped walking and rummaged in his backpack to produce a small device that looked remarkably like a portable video game. "Behold the Reality Extrapolator 4000!"

Both Carl and Sheen stared at the device with interest and curiosity. "What's a Reality Exasperator, Jimmy?" asked Sheen at last.

"Reality EXTRAPOLATOR, Sheen," corrected Jimmy. "Basically, it lets you know how things would turn out if something were to happen. In this case, you could ask what would happen if you got what you wanted for Christmas."

"Oh, I get it," said Carl. "Like last year I wanted a BB gun for Christmas but my parents said that I would shoot my eye out so I never got one. This would let me know what it would have been like?"

"Sure," said Jimmy. "Let's find out." He flipped a switch on the device, activating it. On the small screen were the words:

STATE DESIRED SCENARIO

"Uh, Jimmy," began Carl, "I don't know if…"

Ignoring his friend, Jimmy said, "Carl Wheezer with a BB gun as last year's Christmas present."

The screen changed to display

SCENARIO: CARL WHEEZER WITH A BB GUN LAST CHRISTMAS

CONFIRM?

"I put in that confirmation requirement as a safeguard," explained Jimmy to Carl and Sheen. "I've gotten into too many bad situations with voice-activated devices. With this device the user has to verbally confirm his or her choice. Confirm!" he stated to the Reality Extrapolator 4000.

As Carl cowered, a visual shock wave appeared to emanate from the small box and pass through them. After it passed, things were much the same – except that all three of them had an eyepatch. Only Sheen seemed delighted.

"Cool!" he shouted. "We all look like pirates!"

"Gas planets! It looks like the BB gun really wasn't a good idea," muttered Jimmy, annoyed.

"Change it back! Change it back!" Carl screamed. "I just got a new pair of glasses and my mom will kill me if I only use half of it!"

"Relax, Carl," said Jimmy calmly, pressing some buttons on the device. "I'll just undo the extrapolation." A visual shock wave again engulfed them, and when it had passed the eyepatches were gone. Carl breathed a sigh relief as the device made a quiet beeping noise.

"That was great, Jimmy!" Sheen said. "Now let's see what it would be like if the school board had hired UltraLord to be the school principal."

Jimmy examined his gadget and shook his head. "Sorry Sheen, but that's the low battery warning – extrapolating takes a lot of power. If we tried something else and it didn't work I wouldn't be able to use the RE4000 to undo it until I could recharge it again." He looked up suddenly as a familiar bell began to ring. "Leaping leptons! We're late for school! Let's get going!"

With that, Jimmy stuffed the device back into his backpack and began running with his friends towards the school building. In his haste to get to class, however, he failed to notice that the Reality Extrapolator was still on, and that the small screen again read

STATE DESIRED SCENARIO

End of Part 1


	2. Part 2 A Poor Choice of Words

It's an Alternate Life

by Gary D. Snyder

Part 2:

Cindy Vortex and Libby Folfax were already in their places in Miss Fowl's classroom and had been engaged in their usual pre-class conversation. This morning the upcoming holidays and planned events had been added to their usual topics of boys, music, fashion, and clothes.

"So you'll be sure to be there, right Libs?" asked Cindy.

"Wouldn't miss it, girl," Libby replied enthusiastically. "Any Christmas Eve party with a live DJ has got to rock. Who else you got coming?"

"Anyone and everyone who matters, of course. Including Nick." Cindy sighed as she said the name. It was nearly a conditioned reflex for girls who knew Nick Dean to sigh at the name, as Nick epitomized bad boy cool the way that Sheen epitomized Ultra Lord fanaticism. "Yes, definitely Nick," Cindy continued dreamily. "All I have to do is ask him – which is just a formality, of course."

"Of course," Libby agreed, just as the bell rang.

"And naturally, if only the people who do matter will be there, the people who don't matter will have to find something else to do." Almost as if on cue, Jimmy, Carl, and Sheen appeared at the door just as Cindy finished her sentence. "And to provide a perfect example, here come the young and the hopeless!"

Usually Jimmy would have responded with a sharp retort, but he was determined to keep his promise to behave for the holidays. "It's nearly Christmas, Vortex," said Jimmy as he slid into his desk next to Cindy. "Let's call a truce, OK?"

"Fine by me, Nerd-tron."

"Settle down, settle down, cla-a-ass," clucked Miss Fowl in her strangely poultry-like manner of speaking. "Although it's the last day of – bra-a-ack – class before vacation, we still have a full school day."

As the students groaned as a body at the grim reminder, Nick chose that moment to appear in the doorway. After pausing briefly to preen, he sauntered slowly over to Miss Fowl's desk. "Sorry I'm late, Miss Fowl," he intoned in a cool, almost bored,voice, "but I was unavoidably delayed by whatever it was that delayed me." He produced a note from his pocket and offered it to the teacher.

"Just throw it on the pile, Nick," clucked Miss Fowl, "and take your se-e-at."

"No problem."

As Nick started down the aisle towards his desk, Cindy whispered to Libby, "Watch this!" As Nick drew up to her desk, Cindy casually knocked her notebook onto the floor at his feet and rolled her green eyes with feigned embarrassment and feminine helplessness. "Oops! How clumsy of me!"

Nick stopped and smiled at Cindy, but before he could move Jimmy chivalrously scooped the fallen notebook up from the floor. "Permit me, Miss Vortex," he said, gallantly proffering it to the flustered Cindy.

"What? But I – that is –" she stammered, not sure whether to be more surprised or annoyed at this unexpected turn of events. As Nick shrugged and moved off towards his desk, letting Cindy's opportunity slip away with him, she decided on anger. "Neutron, what is your problem?" she hissed.

It was now Jimmy's turn to waver between surprise and annoyance. "Problem? What problem?"

"Picking up my notebook, that's what! You know I wanted Nick to!"

"Hey," Jimmy protested, "I was just trying to be nice because it's almost Christmas!"

"Christmas? Well, I know the perfect gift to get you for Christmas. A clue!" Cindy nearly shouted.

"Umm, children – " Miss Fowl began. Both Cindy and Jimmy ignored her, as did the other students. Despite the frequency of such outbursts between the two, the rest of the class was always captivated by these confrontations.

"Well, I know what you could use for Christmas, Vortex. Half an avoirdupois ounce of simple human gratitude!"

"There's only one thing I know I'd want, Neutron!" Had this been a cartoon, ominous music would have begun to grow in the background.

"And what's that, Vortex?" Jimmy demanded.

"A world without big-brained, know-it-all, never-minds-his-own-business Jimmy Neutron, that's what!"

"Oh yeah, Vortex?" shouted Jimmy.

The imaginary ominous music swelled to a crescendo. Unseen by anyone the Reality Extrapolator 4000 now displayed the message:

SCENARIO: WORLD WITHOUT JAMES ISAAC NEUTRON

CONFIRM?

"Yeah!" Cindy shot back.

With his IQ of 210 Jimmy might have had a comeback ready, but if he had one Cindy and the others never learned what it was. Before anyone could say or do anything, a visual shock wave rippled outward from Jimmy's backpack, washing over the entire class and passing into the world beyond. When the disturbance passed, the classroom was much the same, except that Jimmy was no longer there. Neither were Carl or Sheen.

End of Part 2


	3. Part 3 Jimmy Who?

It's an Alternate Life

by Gary D. Snyder

Part 3:

At first the mysterious means of Jimmy's, Carl's, and Sheen's disappearance from the classroom went unnoticed by Cindy, as by the time she had shaken her head to uncross her eyes from the shock wave the three boys had already vanished. _It looks like Neutron can dish it out but can't take it_, she thought to herself with some satisfaction. It was then that she noticed the Reality Extrapolator beeping quietly on the floor next to Jimmy's empty desk. A few moments later it also occurred to her that both Carl's and Sheen's desks were also empty. Puzzled but not concerned or even interested by their absence, Cindy turned her attention instead to the gadget lying on the floor. After a cursory inspection of the device she decided that it was one of Jimmy's video games and quickly located the power switch. Deciding to keep the device until Jimmy properly apologized to her, she shut the unit off to stop the soft but insistent beeping and put it into her own backpack_. That will teach that smug nerd some manners, _she reasoned.

The class proceeded without further incident until lunchtime. Although Cindy didn't care where, why, or how Jimmy and his friends had gone there she was too intelligent to not wonder at Miss Fowl's complacence at their absence. She was also puzzled about the lack of reaction that the boys' departure had caused among the other students. When the lunch bell finally rang she decided to bring up the matter with Libby, but was sidetracked by Nick stopping by her desk on his way out.

"Hey there, Vortex," he said. While not Shakespearean Nick's words nonetheless sang sonnets to Cindy. 

"Nick! Hi there," Cindy replied, feeling flustered. "Look, I'm really sorry about what happened earlier today, but – well, you know how these things sometimes happen."

"Totally," Nick said, although his expression was slightly confused. "Listen, I just wanted to check to make sure I could still come by your place after school this afternoon."

"After school? My place? Come by?"

"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. Is that OK?"

Somehow Cindy's impressive vocabulary had reverted to that of an ordinary 4-year-old's. "Yeah. That OK."

"Cool. See you then." He shot her a pointing finger gesture while clicking his tongue and then moved off, leaving Cindy in a pleasant daze. It was only after he had gone and her brain began functioning again that she realized she had forgotten to ask him to her Christmas Eve party. Deciding she would just have to wait until she saw him after school, Cindy gathered up her things and went off to find Libby in the school cafeteria.

To her surprise, Libby was not waiting for her at their usual table. Instead, she was sitting with Britney, Nissa, and some other girls whom Cindy did not know very well_. I guess she thought I was skipping lunch_, she thought_. I must have been talking with Nick longer than I realized_. Pushing her surprise aside, Cindy walked over to her friend.

"Hey, Libby."

"Oh. Hey, Cindy. What's up?"

"Oh, not much," Cindy replied with studied nonchalance. "I'm just seeing Nick after school today, that's all."

The girls at the table all reacted with sounds of awe and incredulity. More so, Cindy thought with some irritation, than the announcement really warranted. "No way!" exclaimed Libby. "You and Nick are getting together after school?"

"Yes!" Cindy said, reliving her earlier giddiness with each syllable. "He's coming over to my place after school. Apparently even Nerd-tron's meddling wasn't enough to ruin things."

Libby frowned and looked blank. "Whose meddling?"

"Neutron's. By the way, have you heard what happened to him? I haven't seen him since that big blow-up this morning. Not," she added with an embarrassed laugh, "that I really care."

Libby and all the other girls were looking at Cindy as if she were a complete stranger, or perhaps more accurately a complete lunatic. At last Libby said, "Just who are you talking about?"

Cindy was beginning to feel a little annoyed, suspecting that perhaps Libby's jealousy at her news about Nick might be the cause of this provocation. "Jimmy. Jimmy Neutron. Know-it-all with the big head and even bigger ego?"

Libby and the other girls looked at each other and spoke together in low tones for a moment before Libby finally answered. "Sorry, Cindy, but we've never heard of any Jimmy Neutron. Are you feeling all right?"

End of Part 3


	4. Part 4 It's a Wonderful Life!

It's an Alternate Life

by Gary D. Snyder

Part 4:

Cindy could not believe her ears. Libby and the other girls had never heard of Jimmy Neutron? Never thought of him, yes. Never thought much of him, obviously. But never heard of him? Either she or her friends had gone insane, and unfortunately Cindy was in the minority in this case. Rather than attempt to further a potentially hopeless cause Cindy wisely chose to execute a strategic, if somwhat lame, retreat. "Oh, yes, of course not," she laughed weakly. "I was just, umm, thinking of somebody else I, er, knew before. Actually, I guess I wasn't thinking. Well, gotta go. Bye!"

"What in the world was that all about?" Libby asked the other girls at the table as Cindy hurried off.

"What in the world was that all about?" Cindy asked herself as she hurried off. So intent was she in her thoughts as she walked along that she ran right into someone. "Oh, I'm so sorry –" she began, and then saw that it was Carl Wheezer. " – to see you," she concluded without missing a beat. "Can't you watch where you're going?"

"Sorry, Cindy," said Carl, stroking his llama plush toy. "I wasn't looking. I was thinking about something."

"Was it llamas?"

"No!" Carl retorted defensively. Then, more meekly, "Yes."

Since she had him here anyway Cindy decided to try getting some answers. "Look, Carl, where did you guys get to this morning? And where's Jimmy?"

"Jimmy?" repeated Carl. "Walker, Hendrix, or Smits?"

"Jimmy Neutron, you ding-dong. Your best friend."

"Oh!" Carl's face brightened in sudden comprehension, then fell. "I never had any of those," he said sadly.

Once again Cindy couldn't believe her ears. Was the insanity catching or was someone, probably Neutron, playing an elaborate joke on her? "Are you telling me," she said slowly, "that you never had a best friend named Jimmy Neutron?"

Carl thought for a moment and replied, "Actually, I don't think I've ever had a friend of any kind." His face brightened again. "Do you want to be my friend?"

Cindy sidestepped the question as gracefully as possible, which means to say she ignored the question entirely. "So where were you this morning? You weren't in Miss Fowl's class."

"I'm not in Miss Fowl's class. I'm in Mr. Mollusk's class."

"Mr. Mollusk's class? But he teaches fifth grade!"

"Yeah," replied Carl. "But Sheen and I both got held back last year. Remember? We aren't as smart as you are."

"No, I guess not," Cindy replied absently. "Listen, I've got to go, uh, somewhere. I'll talk with you later."

"It's a date, girlfriend!" said Carl happily and strutted off, still stroking his llama.

Cindy hardly noticed his departure. Carl didn't seem to remember anything about Jimmy. And before that, Libby and the girls had acted much the same. Cindy frowned, thinking harder. And before that, no one seemed surprised, or even aware, that Jimmy, Carl, and Sheen hadn't been in class.

In class – 

Playing a hunch, Cindy rummaged through her backpack and removed what she had thought had been Jimmy's video game. Switching it on, she read the boot up message on the small screen:

REALITY EXTRAPOLATOR 4000 v. 1.3

PRESS ANY KEY TO CONTINUE

"Reality Extrapolator?" Cindy mumbled to herself. "Extrapolating from what?" She began to press keys, seeking to learn more about the device. She had once been the smartest student in Retroville (before Jimmy had come along), and with her computer skills and experience it didn't take long for her to navigate through the menu structure to the information she wanted. Even so, she couldn't quite believe at first what the activity log on the small screen showed:

SCENARIO: WORLD WITHOUT JAMES ISAAC NEUTRON

SCENARIO EXTRAPOLATION COMPLETE

As she thought about the events of the day, however, she gradually accepted the facts that 1) the Reality Extrapolator really could change reality and 2) her reality no longer included Jimmy Neutron. The aspects of this new reality slowly sank in.

Neutron was gone.

She was the smartest kid in school again.

Carl and Sheen were no longer in her class or, even better, her life.

She was seeing Nick after school.

Cindy allowed herself a broad smile. "Life is good!" she exclaimed.

End of Part 4


	5. Part 5 Or Is It?

It's an Alternate Life

by Gary D. Snyder

Part 5:

Cindy was so intrigued at the prospect of the new world before her that the remainder of the school day was something of a blur to her. She didn't seriously intend to leave things as they were – she had discovered the "Undo" feature in the Reality Extrapolator when she had examined it – but she was determined to make the most of the situation before returning things to back to how they had been. Without Jimmy in the classroom to answer questions or interrupt her she found herself taking the leading role in Miss Fowl's lessons. While this was a new (and thoroughly enjoyable) experience for Cindy Miss Fowl and the other students seemed to regard it all as perfectly normal. At last the final bell rang.

"Well, that's it for the year, class," squawked Miss Fowl. "Have a very happy ho-o-oliday and I'll see you next year!"

With cheers of delight the students headed towards the door and their long-awaited vacation. Strangely, Libby didn't wait for Cindy as she always had, and Cindy had to hurry to catch up with her. She did so just as Libby was leaving the school building with Britney. "Hey Libby! Wait up!" Cindy called.

Libby turned to greet her, although her expression was difficult for Cindy to read. "Hi Cindy. What did you want?"

Cindy was puzzled. "I didn't want anything. I was just going to walk home with you."

Libby's next question caught Cindy totally off-guard. "Why?"

"Why? Because – well, because that's what we do after school."

Libby looked both confused and skeptical. "We do? Since when?"

Cindy's mouth dropped open. "Since, like, forever!"

Libby gave Cindy a long look and shook her head. "Look, Cindy, you're a nice person and I like you. Honest, I do. But you're really not the kind of person I hang with. I'm into tunes and fun and kicking it and you – well, you're not. You're into being the smartest kid in school and always studying and being the best at everything you do. I'm not saying that that's bad, or that you're a bad person. I'm just saying that we're different people. I guess that's why we've never really gotten to be close, or spent any time outside of class, or even walked home together after school."

Cindy listened to this with her mouth still open, too stunned to say anything.

Libby shouldered her pack and prepared to leave with Britney. Before she did, however, she said softly, almost as though speaking to herself, "You know, in a funny kind of way I really feel bad about this. I feel like if things had been different, we really could have been friends. Maybe even best friends. But I guess that's something we'll never really know."

Cindy watched Libby walk away, fighting back a wave of dizziness that broke over her. She tried to call out to Libby, tried to tell her that it was all a mistake and that they _were_ best friends, but the words wouldn't get past the lump blocking her throat. She was still fighting to regain her composure when she became aware that Nick had come up beside her.

"Nick," she said hoarsely, trying to smile.

"Hey, Cindy," Nick answered. "I'm glad I caught you before you left. You don't look too good. Are you feeling okay?"

_How sweet_, Cindy thought and began to feel a little better. "Yes, I'm fine."

"Cool," said Nick. "Listen, I just wanted to tell you that I won't have to come by after all."

The dizziness began to envelope her again. "No?" was all Cindy could get out.

"No," repeated Nick. "I just spoke with Miss Fowl and she told me that your tutoring has really helped raise my grades. That means that I won't have to do that special project over the holidays after all. But thanks for offering to help."

"No problem." Cindy managed to say, swallowing hard. "But since you don't have to work on a project tonight maybe we could see a movie instead, or something."

Nick managed an almost embarrassed smile. "Well, thanks Cindy, but I already have plans to see a movie tonight with Betty Quinlan."

If Nick had said he had plans that evening to vaporize her or use her for shark bait Cindy couldn't have felt worse. But she struggled gamely on. "Well, maybe later?"

Nick looked troubled and dragged the toe of his shoe along the concrete walkway. "Well, truthfully Cindy, that really wouldn't be cool. I mean, you're a nice person and all, and I appreciate all you've done, but I can't really be seen hanging around with the class brainiac. You understand, right?"

_Perfectly_, Cindy thought, although all she could do was nod.

"Great. Thanks again for all your help. I really appreciate it. Have a great vacation!" And with that Nick gave her a smile, hopped on his skateboard, and sped away.

Cindy slumped to the ground and watched him disappear around the corner of the school building. Part of her wished that the weather had been cold enough to ice over the sidewalks Nick would be skateboarding on. The rest of her didn't much care about anything. In a few short minutes the elation that had so recently filled her had completely evaporated, leaving her empty.

There was no point in continuing with this, she decided. Numbly she pulled the Reality Extrapolator out of her backpack and activated it. Almost without thinking she navigated to the screen that would restore the world to how it had once been and pressed the button to undo the extrapolation. Nothing appeared to happen, except that the small box emitted a quiet beeping. Rousing herself somewhat Cindy tried again, with the same results (or lack of them) as before. Frowning to herself, she studied the small device. After her recent shocks she had to read the message on the small screen three times before its meaning sunk in. On the screen were the ominous words:

BATTERY LOW: 02%

UNABLE TO UNDO

End of Part 5


	6. Part 6 Reflections

It's an Alternate Life

by Gary D. Snyder

Part 6:

It took a while for Cindy to muster the willpower to go home. With the recent developments of this tragic reality she dreaded to learn what her home life had become. It was far worse than she had feared. When she had been younger her parents had done their utmost to have their child prodigy realize her full potential, which she vaguely remembered from her earlier years as being too much studying and too little free time. When Jimmy had appeared on the scene her parents had apparently seen the pointlessness of pushing her so hard, and Cindy had been freed to devote herself to the things that she had wanted to do. Now the iron-handed parents of her childhood were back with a vengeance. After roundly scolding her for not being home on time they ordered her up to her room without dinner to continue her independent studies. Cindy didn't mind skipping dinner, as the day had left her with no appetite whatsoever.

The room she went to could more appropriately have been termed a cell. Spartan and utilitarian, it had been stripped of everything that had made the room hers. In place of her posters and other personal effects there were instead bookshelves filled with imposing volumes, various study aids, and a computer system loaded with practical software ranging from electronic scholastic references to a 3D virtual modeling program. After a brief appraisal of her situation Cindy dropped onto her bed and buried her face in her hands.

"Guess you kind of underestimated the little guy, didn't you?" said a familiar voice.

Cindy looked up in surprise, but saw no one. "Hello?" she said.

"Over here," said the voice. It seemed to be coming from over by her closet. Hesitantly Cindy got up and slowly moved towards it. There was a mirror on the door (at least her mother understood the need for that) and as Cindy moved towards it she saw only her reflection. But then the reflection said, "So how are you enjoying your new life?"

Cindy let out a little scream and jumped back. Her reflection merely frowned and folder her arms. Cindy moved towards the mirror again. "Who – who are you?" she asked.

The reflection merely laughed. "That's a silly question. Who do I look like?"

_This is it_, thought Cindy. _I've gone insane._

The reflection apparently heard her thoughts and looked thoughtful. "Well, I guess if insanity is a departure from reality then that's probably true. This is about as far from the reality you remember as you can get."

"What do you want?" Cindy wanted to know.

"The same as you, of course, because I _am_ you. Or a part of you anyway. I want to go back." The reflection sighed. "This is no place for someone like us."

"But I don't know how to go back!" Cindy cried.

"Have you tried?"

"Of course I've tried!" Cindy snapped back. "The extrapolator gizmo doesn't work. It's out of power and only Neutron knows how to fix it."

The reflection looked skeptical. "Have you tried clicking your heels together three times and saying 'There's no place like home'?"

That made Cindy mad. "What the heck is that supposed to mean?"

The reflection shrugged. "It means you haven't tried everything. You've looked at the problem, decided it can't be solved, and given up."

"All right, then, Ms. Know-It-All. What would you do?"

"Get Jimmy back."

"I told you that I don't know how," Cindy said. "The extrapolator doesn't work."

Her reflection studied Cindy carefully and said very quietly, "Look, Cindy, here's the situation. You've seen what the world is like without Jimmy. Libby doesn't want to pal around with you anymore because you're no fun here. Carl is stuck back in fifth grade because he couldn't pass without Jimmy's help. Sheen is probably halfway to Ultra Lord psychosis by now because no one here wants to spend time with him. Nick has no interest in you because now you're the school brainiac. And your parents want you to get your Ph.D. from Harvard by the time you're sixteen because now you're the smartest kid around. Those are all perfectly good reasons for wanting Jimmy back. But they aren't good enough."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Cindy.

"I think you know."

Cindy began to sweat. "I don't – I don't know what you mean," she stammered.

The reflection gave her a knowing smile. "I think you do. But you're going to have to be honest with yourself. Wanting Jimmy back because of what he's done isn't important enough for you to find a solution. Wanting him back because of what he really means to you is. When you want Jimmy back badly enough, you'll find a way." Cindy's reflection yawned and stretched. "And now, I'm going to bed. It's been a long day." The reflections eyes met Cindy's. "We've always been honest with each other, Cindy. Can't you be honest just ten seconds more, and admit you miss him?"

As if waking from a dream Cindy suddenly realized that she was looking at her normal reflection again in the mirror. She also realized that, hallucination or not, her reflection had been right. She was tired, and it had been a long day. She went to bed.

End of Part 6.


	7. Part 7 Just Once More

It's an Alternate Life

by Gary D. Snyder

Part 7:

As tired as she was, Cindy couldn't fall asleep. Her conversation, real or imagined, with whatever it had been had left her troubled and restless. Admit that she missed Jimmy Neutron? She didn't even _like_ him. Did she? She had never missed him before. And on numerous occasions she had gone out of her way to avoid him. And how could she possibly miss someone who hadn't been gone for even a whole day? Unless – and this thought gave her a sudden chill – unless there was no chance of ever seeing him again. If Jimmy had gone to the moon (again) there would still be a chance, however slight, of running into him again some way, sometime, somehow. Here there was no chance whatsoever. She could never in a million lifetimes hope to again see someone who had never been.

At last she got up and moved quietly to her work desk, where she switched on the study light and opened her backpack. Carefully she pulled out her personal notebook and opened it. Inside the front cover was a picture of her and Humphrey (somehow all the things that had been with her at the time of the change had been unaffected by the extrapolator), but that wasn't what interested her at the moment. Instead, she dug her finger under the top corner, loosening the secret cover beneath and pulling it back to reveal something she had never shown to anyone, not even Libby.

It was picture of her and Jimmy at Retroland after they had won the Lindbergh Elementary candy-selling contest. For most of the VIP tour they had been sullen and withdrawn, communicating with each other only in grunts and monosyllables. But before the tour ended Jimmy had enclosed a particularly annoying mime in a real force-field cube. The sight of the mime changing from his placid performance of "Man in a Glass Cube" to frantically hammering against the invisible walls and yelling loudly for help (and being totally ignored by everyone) had reduced both of them to hysterical laughter. The amusement park photographer had happened to take a photo of them as they had stood there laughing together, and had sold each of them a print. Something about the photo had prompted Cindy to place it in the secret compartment of her notebook and keep it there, although she wouldn't have been able to say why at the time. Now she knew. In those few moments with him she had been happier than she ever had been with anyone else. Every time she had looked at it she could remember the pure joy she had felt at the time, and had wished she could feel that way again.

As she gently ran her fingers over the photo she wondered what Jimmy had done with his copy of the photo. Possibly put it into his infinite hybercube and forgotten all about it, she supposed. Or maybe he had just thrown it away. In this world it didn't much matter.

With a sigh Cindy replaced the notebook in her backpack, switched off the light and returned to bed. From downstairs she could faintly hear music coming from her parents living room stereo. It was a favorite old song of theirs, called "Just Once More", and usually Cindy didn't much care for it. But at the moment it fit her mood, and as she listened to the melody her mind began to compose new lyrics to fit the tune.

__

He was no one special, just the nerd who lived next door,

Just a minor nuisance too annoying to ignore,

And everything he had to say was always such a bore.

Still, I think I'd like to hear him just once more.

He was always someone very easy to forget,

No one that I ever gave a second look, and yet

Although I never hoped to see him coming to my door

Still I think I'd like to see him just once more.

Be careful what you wish for, for remember if you do

That sometime things you say you can't recant.

And everybody learns one day that wishes can come true,

So only wish for what you really want.

He was never anyone I noticed that was there.

When he came, or when he left, I never seemed to care,

And though he wasn't anyone I thought I could adore

Still I wish that he could be here - 

Though I couldn't say what for -

I wish that he could be here -

Just -

Once -

More.

Cindy at last admitted it to herself. What she hated most about this world was not all the things in it that were different. It was what was no longer there.

She missed Jimmy.

End of Part 7.


	8. Part 8 Brain Blast

It's an Alternate Life

by Gary D. Snyder

Part 8:

Smart as she was Cindy still couldn't understand a thing that Jimmy was telling her. He had been discussing in great detail how his Reality Extrapolator worked, but none of the words he used made any sense and his answers to her questions only made things more confused.

"So what exactly does the framulator do?" she asked.

"It promulizes the enurgolon stream just before it gets to the retrovator."

"What does promulize mean? And why isn't the framulator called the promulizer if that's what it does?"

"That's simple enough," replied Jimmy patiently. "Promulizing is the same as pobulating, except that the polarity of the ergons are reversed from upitary to lanutive."

"Probulating?" asked Cindy desperately. "What is probulating?"

"Oh, did we skip that? I guess we'd better start at the beginning again. The coragutive regenovator of the Reality Extrapolator –"

Cindy screamed and slumped down in her chair. "It's hopeless!" she cried. "I don't understand a word of this! I'm just not smart enough!"

"Of course you are," Jimmy reassured her. "Just remember the 3 D's – determination, dedication, and diligence - and you'll be a 3D model student."

At least that made sense. "But I don't have time," she protested. "I need to figure this out _now_."

"And you will," replied Jimmy. "It's all right in front of you. Once you make the connection everything will come together."

"That's easy for you to say," Cindy grumped. "You built the thing."

"Well, yes, I did. But you shouldn't have any trouble now. See you later."

Cindy looked surprised. "You're leaving?"

"Afraid so, Cindy. Time and tide wait for no boy genius."

"But I still don't understand what to do!" Cindy protested. "I don't remember anything you've told me!"

"Don't worry!" answered Jimmy calmly, handing her his hypercube. "I've left it all inside for you. Well, gotta blast! Just remember to think about it!" With that Jimmy activated his backpack jetpack and jetted away. "Be sure to think!" he called back faintly. "Think! Think! Think!"

__

3D model…

Left it all inside…

Make the connection…

All right in front of you…

Instantly Cindy was wide-awake as the pieces came together. "Brain blast!" she cried, sitting bolt upright. "I mean, eureka!" she corrected herself. Scrambling out of bed she hurried to her work desk and snapped on the light. Just as she had dreamt, it had all been in front of her. Although the extrapolator didn't have the power to undo the scenario she was in, the information to undo it had to be inside it. If she could just get to that information she might be able to find and upload Jimmy's information into her 3D modeling program.

Eagerly she examined the Reality Extrapolator and almost immediately found what she was searching for: a high-speed serial connection that she could use to transfer data from the device to her computer. She worried briefly that the two units would not be able to communicate with each other, but fortunately her parents of this reality had provided her with a state-of-the-art computer and Jimmy had built standard protocols into his invention's interfaces. The computer quickly identified the new hardware as a Reality Extrapolator 4000 and installed it as a removable drive in her system.

From that point it was fairly simple. She started up her 3D virtual modeling tool and began browsing the contents of the Reality Extrapolator for the information she wanted. Although the window showed several dozen files present there was one file that was, very conspicuously, much larger than the others. "Must be his big head," she muttered as she began loading the file.

For a long time nothing appeared to happen, as the file transfer took a long time to complete. Then the program began to render the file in stages on her monitor and Cindy watched in fascination as the image quickly progressed from a wire frame outline to a monochrome 3D solid and finally to a fully colored and shaded 3D image. Cindy couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry.

It was Jimmy!

End of Part 8.


	9. Part 9 A Meeting of the Minds

It's an Alternate Life

by Gary D. Snyder

Part 9:

Cindy clicked on Jimmy's image to activate it. The result was for Jimmy look around him. "Whoa! What happened? Where am I?"

Cindy activated the Webcam attached to her computer monitor. "Jimmy! Can you see me?"

"Cindy?" From where Jimmy was he appeared to be surrounded by a black void, unbroken except for a large viewing area with Cindy's image on it floating in front of him. "What's going on? Where am I?"

Cindy explained what had happened since the previous morning. "And now your extrapolator doesn't have enough power to bring you back," she concluded. "You're the only one who knows how to recharge it, so I uploaded you into my computer so that you could tell me how to get it working again."

"You figured out to do that? Impressive," said Jimmy, who was genuinely impressed. Cindy felt a warm glow at Jimmy's sincere praise. "But recharging the RE4000 is no big deal. All you have to do is plug it into the reactor in my lab, and –"

"Hello!" interrupted Cindy. "There is no lab. You don't exist."

"Gas planets! That's right," muttered Jimmy. He did some thinking. "Well, maybe we can find something else with enough power to recharge the energy cells. The cells are basically electric in nature."

"How much power?" Cindy wanted to know. "Maybe we could charge it up through an outlet or something."

"Well," Jimmy said slowly, "the interfaces don't really need all that much – maybe half a watt or so. But the matrix reconfiguration engine needs a little more."

"How little?"

Jimmy hesitated. "About 1.21 gigawatts, give or take a couple megawatts."

"1.21 gigawatts?!" Cindy shrieked. Then, realizing she might wake her parents, she immediately lowered her voice. "1.21 gigawatts? Are you out of your bitmapped mind?"

"I know, I know," said Jimmy, pacing back and forth. "If we tried plugging it into a standard wall outlet it would take about 2 weeks for a full recharge. Of course, that's based on a 120-volt power line with outlet rating of 20 amps and assuming no blackouts. Or your parents noticing the electric meter spinning like a pinwheel."

"Then we have to find a bigger source," said Cindy.

Jimmy stopped pacing. "Of course!" he exclaimed. "If we were to tap into Retroville substation, we could recharge the power cells in just a few minutes!" He resumed pacing. "Of course, we'd have to disable the security and keep anyone from noticing the power drain until the cells were recharged."

Cindy looked skeptical. "And how are we supposed to do that?"

"Just leave that to me," replied Jimmy. Suddenly he gave a yell of alarm and dove for the floor (or whatever he was standing on could be called) just as Cindy's monitor went blank. In a panic Cindy jerked the mouse back and forth and Jimmy reappeared, looking about him cautiously. "Puking Pluto!" he exclaimed. "Did I just nearly get hit by a flying toaster?"

"Sorry," Cindy apologized, somewhat sheepishly. "Let me disable the screen saver." After she had done so, she asked, "What were you going to say?"

"Oh, right. Do you have an Internet connection on this computer?"

"Of course," said Cindy. "Why?"

"Open a connection and I'll show you." Puzzled, Cindy did so, causing a door to appear in Jimmy's virtual world. "Be back in a minute," said Jimmy as he disappeared through the door, vanishing from Cindy's monitor. In considerably less than a minute he was back, rubbing his hands together. "That's that. Being virtual has some definite advantages."

"Where did you go?" Cindy asked as she closed the Internet connection.

"To the Retroville power distribution station. I've set the controls to keep the power drain from being noticed and prevent them from disconnecting from the main grid for about 10 minutes. I set it up for 4:45 this afternoon. That will be just before the shift change and I figured that would give us the best chance of not being detected just in case anything goes wrong."

"All right. Now what?"

"First, you'll have to download me back into the RE4000. Then, you'll have to get to one main power transmission towers about 5 miles past the Retroville substation and initiate the power transfer at 4:45 PM."

"I'm on it," said Cindy, sure that their problems were now behind them.

End of Part 9.


	10. Part 10 The Best Laid Plans

It's an Alternate Life

by Gary D. Snyder

Part 10:

            At 4:30 that afternoon Cindy was on her bicycle nearing the designated power transmission tower.  She had waited until her parents had left to do some last-minute Christmas shopping, and Jimmy had briefed her carefully on how to initiate the power transfer before her departure.

            "Once you activate the recharge cycle it shouldn't take more than 5 or 10 minutes for the power cells to be fully charged," Jimmy had told her.

            "Can't we just charge the cells enough to undo this one thing?" Cindy had asked.

            "Technically, yes, but the transfer amperage will be pretty high and I don't think you'll want to touch the unit until it's finished charging.  That reminds me – you might want to stay back about 15 feet or so during the charging operation to avoid any unpleasant shocks.  What's the weather like?"

            "The forecast is for temperatures in the high 50's and sunny.  I shouldn't have any problems getting out there in an hour or so."

            Once that had been done Cindy had downloaded Jimmy back into the Reality Extrapolator 4000 and waited for her opportunity to leave.  The ride out was uneventful, although even with only a sweater on she had begun to feel overheated by the time she reached her destination.  Per Jimmy's instructions at 4:45 PM she placed the unit directly under the high tension wires, accessed the Power Management menu, activated Direct Charge, and backed up about 15 feet.

            No sooner had she stopped than a bright bolt of energy leaped from the power lines overhead and began to bombard the small device.  On the screen, barely visible from where she was, a progress bar appeared and began to crawl across the small screen with almost maddening slowness.  _Well, that's that_, she thought.  _It won't be long now_.

            Cindy was correct, but not in the way she had hoped.  Although Jimmy had been able to disable the monitoring at the local Retroville power station he could not have hoped to circumvent all the safeguards or escape notice in all of the interconnected electrical grid.  The power surge was detected upstream and an inquiry sent to the Retroville station and when the readings didn't add up an inspection of the monitoring system uncovered Jimmy's handiwork.  Suspecting the worst the manager of the plant put in an urgent call to the appropriate government agencies, who in turn alerted the military.

The military was nothing if not efficient.  Less than 5 minutes after the detection of the power surge General Abercrombie had scrambled a flight to assess the situation at Retroville power station.  2 minutes later, as the power cells reached 96% of full charge, the two jets made their first flyby of the area and immediately saw the electrical arcs from the power lines.

"Brass Hat, this is Sleepy Weasel," the lead pilot radioed.  "We have the source of the disruption in sight.  It appears that someone or something is draining the power directly from the power lines.  Please advise on course of action."

"Sleepy Weasel, this is Brass Hat," General Abercrombie radioed back.  "This may be a terrorist attempt to bring down the entire regional power grid.  Take whatever action you feel is necessary to terminate the disruption."

_97%._

The pilot with the call sign Sleepy Weasel hesitated.  "Brass Hat, this is Sleepy Weasel.  Offensive action might destroy the tower and take down the entire Retroville power system."

The answer came back almost immediately.  "Sleepy Weasel, this is Brass Hat.  I repeat, take whatever action you feel necessary to terminate the disruption."

"Roger that, Brass Hat, we acknowledge and are setting up for attack run."

_98%._

The jets wheeled about in a great arc and sped towards the tower where Cindy was waiting impatiently for the charging to finish.  She had been aware of the jets' initial flyby but had been too absorbed in the status of the recharging operation to pay much attention to them.  As she saw the sleek fighters begin their attack run towards the tower, however, she became painfully aware of their intent.  _This can't be happening!_ she thought in a panic.  Desperately she looked at the Reality Extrapolator, trying to force the charging to complete through sheer will power.

_99%. _

Sleepy Weasel flipped through his controls, jockeying his targeting reticule towards the base of the electrical arc.  "Target acquired," he stated as the reticule turned from white to red and an audible tone filled the cockpit.  "I have tone.  Missile armed and locked.  Firing."  With that, he pressed a button on the joystick, and a surface-to-air missile detached from beneath one of the figher's wings and sped away towards its target.  "Missile away.  4 seconds to target."

The progress bar completed its slow march, at last reading 100%.

3 seconds.

            Cindy saw the fiery glow of the approaching missile in the darkening sky just as the arc of electrical energy ceased.  Fueled by pure adrenalin she made a diving leap for the Reality Extrapolator 4000 and scooped it up in one motion.  Frantically she began pressing the buttons needed to undo this nightmare, muttering aloud to herself as she did so.

"File.  Select."  _Don't look at the missile_.

2 seconds.

"Scenario.  Options."  _Don't look at the missile.  Just the screen.  Only the screen._

1 second.

"Undo!"

As the now-familiar visual shock wave passed through her time seemed to freeze, slowing everything around her.  Some 10 yards away she saw the missile heading towards her, and the distortion moving to meet it.  The shock wave engulfed the missile, causing the deadly projectile to waver and vanish like a passing mist, and then sped onward to similarly envelope and dematerialize the jets beyond.  _It's over_, Cindy thought with relief.

That was all she had time to think.  A brutally cold wind slammed into her like a fist, knocking her into a deep drift of snow.

End of Part 10.


	11. Part 11 The Butterfly Effect

It's an Alternate Life

by Gary D. Snyder

Part 11:

After recovering from her initial shock Cindy looked around. At first she thought that the Reality Extrapolator had somehow affected her senses, as she was unable to see anything around her but blackness and there was a roaring in her ears. Then she realized that it was snowing heavily and that the roaring she heard was the wind. Struggling to an sitting position she pulled her sweater tightly around her and shivered. What had happened?

As the shock wave from the Reality Extrapolator passed through the Neutron home, the first thing that Jimmy realized was that he was back in his room with Goddard. The second thing he realized was that there was a blizzard raging outside his window. "Holy Heisenberg!" he exclaimed, as he realized what had happened. "It's the Butterfly Effect!" The Butterfly Effect was a well-known aspect of chaos theory. In essence it stated that, given enough distance in time or space, a small event could have a large effect. The classic example was that a single beat of a butterfly's wing in Tokyo could determine whether Central Park in New York had rainy or clear weather. Jimmy's absence or presence for 11 years had been enough to change the weather in Retroville from a balmy winter day to the worst winter storm Jimmy had ever seen. And Cindy was in it miles from any help or anyone knowing where she was.

Jimmy raced to his closet and pulled out his heaviest winter coat and warmest parka. "Come on, Goddard!" he called, rushing out the door and down the stairs. "We don't have much time!" He hoped that he could get out of the house before his parents saw him, but just before he reached the front door he ran into his father, who was holding a slab of pumpkin pie in one hand.

"Now hold on there, Jimbo," Hugh Neutron said. "Just where do you think you're going?"

"Uh…" Jimmy stammered thinking of what to say. "I – uh – I have a power meeting with a friend I just remembered." _That was sort of the truth_, he told himself.

"Well, now, son, I admit meetings are important," his father replied. "But just look outside. That's a killer storm out there."

__

Exactly, thought Jimmy franticly. The ploy he came up with would never have worked with his mother, but Jimmy chanced it with his dad. "It's okay, Dad. I have two coats. See?" He held them up, trying not to seem agitated.

Hugh looked carefully from Jimmy to the coats and back again. "Well," he said thoughtfully, "I guess if two coats are good enough for painting a house they're good enough for going out in a raging blizzard. Okay, son, have fun, but don't stay out too late." He leaned closer to Jimmy and said in a conspiratorial half-whisper, "Your mother is baking Granny Neutron's holiday cranapple pie for dessert. Bye-bye!" With that, Jimmy's dad headed towards the kitchen, calling, "Oh Sugar Booger! Do we have any whipped cream?"

Jimmy dashed out the door into the storm, pulling on his coat and struggling against the wind. "It's worse than I thought!" he said, leaning into the gale and battling his way forward a few steps. It hadn't been this cold since he had quantumly enhanced Carl's sunblock. "My hovercraft will never make it in this storm. Goddard!" he called, shouting to make himself heard about the howl of the wind. "Flycycle Turbo Mode!"

Obediently Goddard unfolded into the desired vehicle and Jimmy leaped aboard. _Glad I installed those afterburners_, he thought. Activating the forward-looking infrared screen, Jimmy and Goddard sped into the night towards the Retroville power station. As they raced along Jimmy kept his eyes on the screen watching for Cindy's telltale thermal image that should have stood out like a snowball in a coal bin in this frigid weather. As the minutes dragged by with no results, however, he began to worry. Had she wandered off into the storm? Or was the snow too heavy for the sensors to penetrate? _She's got to be all right_, Jimmy thought feverishly. _She's just got to be_.

Cindy had in fact made an attempt to return to the road based on her best recollection of the direction she had come, but even with the wind at her back the going was difficult. The snow had drifted deeply, making walking nearly impossible, and with only her sweater the cold was numbing even without the wind chill. After struggling on for several hundred yards she finally sank, freezing and exhausted, into the snow. As she did so, she fancied that she felt warmer and half-imagined that she was crawling under the warm comforter of her own bed. _Yes_, she thought as she began drifting off and the swirling snow began to drift over her still form. _I'll just sleep for a little bit, and then I can go on again. Just for a few minutes, that's all. Just a few minutes..._

End of Part 11.


	12. Part 12 Home Again

It's an Alternate Life

by Gary D. Snyder

Part 12:

Circling somewhere above the Retroville power station in the blizzard, Jimmy was beginning to panic. Even with his heavy coat the relentless cold was beginning to chill him and he knew that Cindy was in far worse straits than he was. Despite several sweeps of the area using Goddard's thermal imaging system, however, he had been unable to find any signs of Cindy. At last he was forced to admit that the storm was too heavy for the infrared sensors to work reliably.

"So what now?" he asked himself. "Give up?" He shook his head. "No way. Cindy didn't give up on me, and I'm not leaving until I find her. Come on, Neutron, you're supposed to be a genius! Think! Think! THINK!"

__

Enough power to recharge the energy cells…

The matrix reconfiguration engine needs a little more…

1.21 gigawatts…

"Brain blast!" he cried. "If I can't zero in on Cindy, maybe I can find the Reality Extrapolator! I just hope she still has it with her." He swallowed hard. "Goddard! Scan for all 5 terajoule or greater energy sources in Retroville!"

Instantly the display screen in front of Jimmy showed three bright dots. Jimmy studied them carefully. That one over there was the reactor at Jimmy's lab, and that one just below them had to be the power plant. That meant that the last one should be the extrapolator. As Jimmy maneuvered the Flycycle towards the location of the energy source, he was relieved to see a faint thermal image appear on the screen at the same location. "Okay, Goddard, that's it! Let's get down there!"

As Goddard descended on his landing jets with a hiss of vaporizing snow, Jimmy leaped with the parka from his seat and ran to the small mound of snow identified by the imaging system as the location of the energy and heat sources. After a few frenzied seconds of brushing away the snow he uncovered Cindy, curled up and apparently asleep. Jimmy began hauling her to her feet. "Come on, Cindy! Wake up!" To his relief Cindy began mumbling in protest as he pulled the parka on her and began walking her to get her circulation going. After a few moments of this Cindy opened her eyes.

"Neutron? What are you doing in my room?" She began to shiver. "Why is it so cold in here?"

Jimmy breathed a sigh of relief. "I'll explain it all later. For now, let's just get you someplace warm." 

The Flycycle was designed to be a one-man vehicle, so Jimmy put Cindy side-saddle in front of him, steadying her on both sides with his arms. Instinctively Cindy curled up and nestled into him, trying to conserve as much body heat as possible. To his own surprise, Jimmy found he didn't mind it as much as he thought he would have. In fact, he didn't mind it at all. The ride back seemed much shorter to him than the ride out had been. No doubt it was due to the strong winds being behind them this trip, Jimmy reasoned, or possibly his relief at having found Cindy. Or maybe, he reluctantly admitted, he didn't really want the ride to end. As they came in for a landing, Cindy stirred.

"Jimmy?" she murmured.

"Yes, Cindy?"

She opened her eyes and looked into his. "You owe me big."

Jimmy decided that bringing Cindy to his house before she went home would present the fewest problems with the parents. She was completely thawed out by her third mug of hot chocolate and second piece of hot cranapple pie and seemed no worse for wear from her experiences of the past 2 days. Judy Neutron was delighted that Jimmy had brought her over.

"It's always nice when Jimmy's friends stop in," she said. "Well, except Sheen," she added. "Jimmy, since Cindy is here, why don't you go up to your room and get her that present you've been working on?" Cindy looked at Jimmy in surprise.

"Mom!" Jimmy protested, aghast both that his mother knew about that and that she'd actually mention it in front of Cindy.

"Now Jimmy," said his mother soothingly, "I know that you've been working on that thing since Thanksgiving." She chuckled. "You can't keep secrets from me in this house, young man. Now, scoot. Cindy said that her parents are expecting her home for dinner soon."

Jimmy headed off to his room, grumbling. "I'll bet Einstein's parents never embarrassed him this way," he muttered. He returned shortly with a small wrapped package and presented it to Cindy. "Merry Christmas, Vortex," he said awkwardly.

Cindy unwrapped the gift, nonplused by and yet enjoying the attention. "Well, it's a picture frame," she said, once she had the package open. "Thanks, Neutron."

"Not just a picture frame," Jimmy responded. "It's the Neutron Panzoomatic picture frame, allowing you to interactively zoom in, zoom out, rotate, or pan to any part of the picture with the touch of a button."

"Yes, it was my idea," added Jimmy's dad. "Or at least, Jimmy got the idea from me. I just never could get the hang of those camera…looking-through…thingies and get any of those photos right. More pie, anyone?"

Later that night in her room Cindy spent a few minutes working with the Panzoomatic before going to bed. Once done she place the frame on the night table by her bed and surveyed the result with satisfaction. Inside the frame, carefully enlarged and centered, were the happy faces of her and Jimmy at the Retroland amusement park.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again," she murmured deamily to herself as she drifted off to sleep. "For a nerd, he sure comes in handy."

End of Part 12.


	13. Epilog 'Twas the Night Before Christmas

It's an Alternate Life

by Gary D. Snyder

Epilog:

_The Christmas Eve party is going pretty well_, thought Cindy with satisfaction as she surveyed the crowd. Everyone seemed to be mingling, dancing, eating, drinking, and generally enjoying themselves. One exception was Sheen, who was trying to talk with the lead guitarist of the band. The musician was in turn doing his best to ignore the boy.

"Can you play the Ultra Lord theme song?" Sheen was asking.

The guitarist gave a tired sigh. "I told you before, kid – we only play dance music."

Sheen was outraged. "The Ultra Lord theme song _is_ dance music!" he cried indignantly. "Don't you remember the Ultra Lambada from Episode 117?" Humming the music from the TV show, Sheen began dancing the Ultra Lambada into the crowd of kids already on the floor.

The musician hung his head, thinking that his parents had been right and that he really should have been doing his homework instead of wasting his time in the garage practicing the guitar.

__

Well, the party is going as well as can be expected, Cindy corrected herself after watching the display. She wandered over to Libby, who was wearing her headphones and dancing. "Libby, there's a live band playing. Why are you wearing headphones?"

At that moment Sheen danced the Ultra Lambada over to them. "Hey Libby! Wanna dance?" he called. "Libby? Libby?" Libby continued dancing, apparently unable to hear Sheen with the headphones on.

__

I should have known, thought Cindy as she moved off. Looking over the rest of the crowd she spotted Nick talking with Betty Quinlan at the refreshments table, where Carl Wheezer was loading a plate with Fish Snack-ems and other assorted treats. She was amused that the sight of Nick with someone else didn't bother Cindy as much as it once would have, although the contents of Carl's plate made her feel rather queasy.

"Hi Cindy. Great party," a familiar voice said.

Cindy looked around. "Oh, Jimmy. Hi. Thanks. I'm glad you could make it."

"Thanks for inviting me over. I mean, us over. I think that Carl and Sheen were just as surprised as I was to get the invitations the other day."

Cindy gave an embarrassed laugh. "Well, you know how it is with the post office deliveries around Christmas. I should have invited you personally rather than send them through the mail, but I guess wasn't really thinking clearly at the time." She paused. "I'm sorry I didn't get you a present."

"Actually, you did," replied Jimmy. "I don't think anyone ever gave me a present as nice as the one you did."

There followed a long and awkward silence. Finally Cindy said, "You know, Neutron, that things will probably be the same as it was once school starts again."

"Yeah, I know. You'll be sabotaging my desk again, and I'll be back getting better grades than you."

"What do you mean, better grades?" Cindy demanded. "Our grade point averages are the same and you know it, Neutron!"

"That's only because Lindbergh Elementary cuts off the grading scale at A instead of A+, Vortex!" Jimmy responded. "If they used the 5.0 grading scale instead of the 4.0 scale I'd be way ahead of you."

"Do you actually think –"

"Quite a lot, actually – "

"Why you, big-headed –"

"You mean big-brained –"

An odd sound behind them caused them both to look around. Jimmy and Cindy saw that Goddard had snuck up on them and had activated the extension arm from his utility compartment. Hanging just over and between the two from the end of Goddard's arm was a sprig of mistletoe. Jimmy and Cindy looked at the mistletoe in quiet surprise, and then slowly smiled at each other.

"Merry Christmas, Jimmy," said Cindy moving just a little closer.

"And a Happy New Year, Cindy," replied Jimmy, as he closed the remaining distance.

The End.


End file.
